In accordance with this invention a computer supports both keyboard entry and mouse entry with a single cursor on the computer display. Computer programs often use "menus" to call for control entries from the user. A menu is a brief list of items displayed on the computer display, typically a conventional cathode ray tube (CRT). The user selects one of the items on the menu using an input device. The keyboard and mouse are the most widely used of such input devices.
The internal, control program of the computer provides a cursor, which is an emphasized area or a pointer. The cursor defines locations on the screen corresponding to the selection information to be entered. The cursor is often in the form of a highlighted rectangle that encloses a symbol or item. The rectangle may be different color or brightness than the surrounding space on the display.
In typical keyboard entry the cursor is moved by pressing keys which result in the cursor simultaneously appearing at the next input word or symbol and disappearing from the previous input word or symbol. The cursor thus increments or "jumps." For example, arrow keys, one each for up, down, right, and left, move the cursor one step up, down, right, and left respectively with each activation. The tabulate (tab) key is also commonly used to advance from one input symbol to another sequentially from left-to-right with each activation, and from right-to-left when the tab key is depressed simultaneously with shift key. Some keyboard control programs respond to predetermined letters or groups of letters to relocate the cursor on the display, typically while carrying out a command also selected by the entry.
The mouse has become a popular input device in conjunction with a keyboard. The mouse is a traversing device in that its movement causes the cursor to move in a continuous path, thereby moving from one location on the display to another while appearing on the display in a continuous series of locations as it moves between the two locations. The mouse is also represented by a cursor on the screen, often by an arrow so as to emphasize the effective location of the cursor. (In video text applications, the cursor is generally an emphasized rectangle.)
With a conventional mouse, the cursor is moved across the display by sliding the mouse on the table surface. The cursor moves in a direction and amount corresponding to those of the mouse. An entry is selected by pointing the cursor at the display location defining that entry and pressing a button on the mouse.
As perceived by users, the mouse cursor appears at any position on the screen while the keyboard cursor appears only at entry symbols on the screen. Secondly, a keyboard operating program typically repositions the keyboard cursor after a transition between displays, such as from a main menu to a submenu, while a mouse operating program does not reposition the cursor on a transition of displays.
In accordance with this invention a single cursor, preferably an arrow, is used for both keyboard and mouse entry, either of which may be employed for most entries. In accordance with this invention, operator disorientation and inconvenience is avoided by structuring the control program of the computer to distinguish between a keyboard entry and a mouse entry, and to reposition the cursor on transition of displays for a keyboard entry and to not reposition the cursor on transition of displays for mouse entry.
Information entry to a computer from both a keyboard or a mouse with the result displayed by a single cursor is illustrated in various forms by the following publications: IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin articles as follows: "Keyboard/Mouse Adapter," Vol. 27, No. 5, Oct. 1984 at pp. 3042-3043; "Bimodal Mouse," Vol. 29, No. 1, June 1986 at pp. 421-422; "Method For Concurrent Support Of Keyboard and Mouse," Vol. 30, No. 11, April 1988 at p. 110; and "Novel Pointing Device and Cursor Control," Vol. 31, No. 5, Oct. 1988 at pp. 276-277; and Research Disclosure, entitled "Compatible Mouse and Mouseless User Interface," April 1986, Number 264, article 26411. U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,386 to Heath et al is of general interest only in that it teaches combined keyboard and mouse entry in which the mouse cursor is hidden during some functions to improve the effectiveness of the display.
In many computer applications, a keyboard cursor and a mouse cursor appear on the screen together. The two function independently. Thus, sliding the mouse does not move the keyboard cursor, and pressing keyboard keys does not move the mouse cursor. Having two such pointers on the screen together is complicated since the user must learn how each pointer works and how they interact. Users also make the mistake of trying to operate a given pointer with the wrong device.
Hence, some software applications are known which combine the two pointers into one pointer. The single pointer may be driven by both the mouse and the keyboard. This avoids the complexity of having two pointers. The problem with this approach is that the pointer always behaves like a mouse pointer or like a keyboard pointer, regardless of which device is used for input. The combined pointer is most commonly implemented as a keyboard pointer which can also be moved by the mouse. This means that sliding the mouse is the same as pressing the arrow keys. It never moves smoothly and freely around the screen as the experienced mouse user would expect. Moreover, the pointer jumps to a new position after a transition between menus or other displays. The mouse user, this inconsistent with the way a mouse pointer normally works.
It is also possible to implement the signal pointer as a mouse pointer which can also be moved by the keyboard. The arrow keys move the pointer in very small increments, causing it to glide in the desired direction. This can be very awkward and inefficient. This method is only used in a few "paint" programs and has limited effectiveness even for those.